The present invention relates in general to wireless communication, and in particular to an integrated detachable personal digital assistant (PDA) and cellular phone system.
Portable devices such as cellular phones, laptop computers, and PDAs (e.g., Palm devices and pocket PCs) are being widely used. At the same time, the recent advancements in the wireless communication technology have enabled wireless communication among these portable and other types of devices. Internet access via PDAs and cell phones are becoming more readily available. It is not uncommon for individuals such as business people or students to carry a cell phone and a PDA on their belt and a laptop computer in their brief case or backpack. Each of these devices serves a different purpose and needs to be readily available for use. However, carrying both a cell phone and a PDA on one's belt at all times can be cumbersome. One approach in addressing this problem has been to combine the functionality of the cell phone and PDA into a single device such as the commercially available Blackberry devices. However, the size of these devices, from a practical stand point, is still too large for comfortable daily usage. In certain circumstance, e.g., while on vacation or in a social setting, one may not need the processing power of the Blackberry type of devices but may need the cell phone capability. Alternatively, while at work or in meetings, one may need the processing power as well as the wireless capability of the cell phone to enable, for example, internet connection.
The Blackberry type of device has another limitation. Simultaneous use of the device as a cell phone and its other functionalities is not possible. For example, while the device is being used for word processing purposes, upon receiving a telephone call, the word processing is automatically stopped so that the telephone function can be used. As another example, when a telephone call is in progress it is not possible to access the device to view the calendar for scheduling purposes or obtain other information stored in the device.
Thus, there is a need for an integrated PDA, cell phone system which overcomes the above-mentioned limitations.